Ronaldo, Messi & the winners of the world’s top individual awards from past 12 months

Ronan Murphy

Ronaldo, Messi & the winners of the world’s top individual awards from past 12 months image

It has been 12 months since Cristiano Ronaldo lifted the Goal 50 prize for 2016, with the Portugal and Real Madrid superstar following that triumph with many more personal honours. However, the 32-year-old has not had it all his way in the past year, with many other major names picking up individual awards.

Ronaldo's long-term rival for greatest player in the world - and former Goal 50 winner Lionel Messi - topped the goalscoring charts in La Liga, which also saw him take the European Golden Shoe award. Although Ronaldo could not match Messi's 37 La Liga goals, he was the Champions League's top scorer with 12 goals as Madrid lifted the trophy.

Many of the award winners gained greater prominence thanks to their excellent campaigns, with the likes of Ederson and Nelson Semedo both earning transfers away from Benfica - to Manchester City and Barcelona respectively. Similarly, Ousmane Dembele became the world's second most expensive player after winning the Bundesliga Best Young Player award.


WORLD AWARD WINNERS


Julian Draxler Claudio Bravo Timo Werner Chile Germany Confederations Cup 07022017

After being voted as the winner of the Goal 50 in 2016, Ronaldo has since claimed the Ballon d'Or and the Best FIFA Men's Player awards. But he was outshone at the Confederations Cup where Germany lifted the trophy. Julian Draxler was that competition's star attraction, with Claudio Bravo putting his club woes with Manchester City behind him to be named the best goalkeeper.

New Liverpool signing Dominic Solanke was the best player at the Under-20 World Cup, while Ronaldo was once again the hero as Real Madrid won the Club World Cup, with the Portugal international picking up yet more individual honours.

Award Player Team
Goal 50 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid & Portugal
Ballon d'Or Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid & Portugal
The Best FIFA Men's Player Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid & Portugal
The Best FIFA Women's Player Lieke Martens FC Barcelona & USA
Confederations Cup Golden Ball Julian Draxler Germany
Confederations Cup Golden Boot Timo Werner Germany
Confederations Cup Golden Glove Claudio Bravo Chile
U-20 World Cup Golden Ball Dominic Solanke England
U-20 World Cup Golden Boot Riccardo Orsolini Italy
U-20 World Cup Golden Glove Freddie Woodman England
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Boot Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
FIFA Puskas Award Olivier Giroud Arsenal

EUROPEAN AWARD WINNERS


Harry Kane Golden Boot 21052017

With Messi and Ronaldo facing off again for the major European awards, Gianluigi Buffon was rewarded for his Champions League performances by being named the competition's Goalkeeper of the Season. Madrid's trophy-winning run saw Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos also receive awards, while Paul Pogba won Europa League Player of the Season.

Tottenham's Harry Kane edged out Everton's Romelu Lukaku for the Premier League Golden Boot, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Edinson Cavani and Edin Dzeko all leading the domestic scoring charts in Germany, France and Italy, respectively.

Award Player Team
European Golden Shoe Lionel Messi Barcelona
UEFA Best Player in Europe Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Champions League Golden Boot Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season Gianluigi Buffon Juventus
Champions League Defender of the Season Sergio Ramos Real Madrid
Champions League Midfielder of the Season Luka Modric Real Madrid
Champions League Forward of the Season Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Europa League Golden Boot Edin Dzeko Roma
Europa League Player of the Season Paul Pogba Manchester United
European U-21 Championship Player of the Tournament Dani Ceballos Spain
European U-21 Championship Golden Boot Saul Spain
Bundesliga Golden Boot Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Borussia Dortmund
Bundesliga Footballer of the Year Philipp Lahm Bayern Munich
Bundesliga Rookie of the Year Ousmane Dembele Borussia Dortmund
Eredivisie Footballer of the Year Karim El Ahmadi Feyenoord
Eredivisie Young Player of the Year Kasper Dolberg Ajax
Eredivisie Top Scorer Nicolai Jorgensen Feyenoord
La Liga Best Player Antoine Griezmann Atletico Madrid
La Liga Best Goalkeeper Jan Oblak Atletico Madrid
La Liga Best Foreign Player Luis Suarez Barcelona
La Liga Best Breakthrough Player Marco Asensio Espanyol
La Liga Trofeo Pichichi Lionel Messi Barcelona
Ligue 1 Golden Boot Edinson Cavani PSG
Ligue 1 Player of the Year Edinson Cavani PSG
Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year Danijel Subasic Monaco
Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year Kylian Mbappe Monaco
Primeira Liga Player of the Year Pizzi Benfica
Primeira Liga Breakthrough Player Nelson Semedo Benfica
Primeira Liga Best Goalkeeper Ederson Benfica
Primeria Liga Golden Boot Bas Dost Sporting CP
Premier League Golden Boot Harry Kane Tottenham
Premier League Players' Player of the Year N'Golo Kante Chelsea
Premier League Players' Young Player of the Year Dele Alli Tottenham
Serie A Footballer of the Year Leonardo Bonucci Juventus
Serie A Capocannoniere Edin Dzeko Roma

AFRICAN AWARD WINNERS


Riyad Mahrez African Footballer of the Year 05012017

CAF handed out its three major awards to English-based players in 2016, with Riyad Mahrez picking up the African Footballer of the Year trophy after helping Leicester City lift the Premier League for the first time in their history. Young Nigeria duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi's achievements were also recognised, while Uganda's Denis Onyango was named as the best player currently playing in Africa.

Christian Bassogog took time out from his club duties with Chinese Super League side Henan Jianye to help Cameroon win the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring twice en route to the final, including in the 2-0 semi-final victory over Ghana. He was named Africa Cup of Nations Man of the Competition for his impact.

Award Player Team
African Footballer of the Year Riyad Mahrez Leicester City & Algeria
CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year Kelechi Iheanacho Manchester City & Nigeria
CAF Youth Player of the Year Alex Iwobi Arsenal & Nigeria
African Inter-Club Player of the Year Denis Onyango Mamelodi Sundowns & Uganda
Africa Cup of Nations Man of the Competition Christian Bassogog Cameroon
Africa Cup of Nations Top Scorer Junior Kabananga DR Congo
CAF Champions League Top Scorer Taha Yassine Khenissi ES Tunis
CAF Confederation Cup Top Scorer Jeremy Brockie SuperSport United

ASIAN & OCEANIAN AWARD WINNERS


The referenced media source is missing and needs to be re-embedded.

Former Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk finished the season as AFC Champions League Top Scorer, with North Korean striker Kim Yu-song doing the same in the AFC Cup. Shinji Okazaki was also rewarded for his contribution to Leicester's Premier League win with a trophy of his own, while PEC Zwolle's Ryan Thomas picked up the Oceania Footballer of the Year Award.

Award Player Team
Asian Player of the Year Omar Abdulrahman Al-Ain & UAE
Asian International Player of the Year Shinji Okazaki Leicester City & Japan
Asian Young Player of the Year Ritsu Doan Gamba Osaka & Japan
AFC Champions League Top Scorer Hulk Shanghai SIPG
AFC Cup Top Scorer Kim Yu-song April 25
Oceania Footballer of the Year Ryan Thomas PEC Zwolle & New Zealand
OFC Champions League Golden Ball Angel Berlanga Auckland City
OFC Champions League Golden Boot Joao Moreira Auckland City
OFC Champions League Golden Glove Enaut Zubikarai Auckland City

NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICAN AWARD WINNERS


David Villa Don Garber NYCFC 12062016

David Villa's exploits in Major League Soccer did not go unnoticed at home or in the United States as he was named the MLS MVP and also received his first international call-up to the Spain squad in three years.

Costa Rica's international duo of Keylor Navas and Bryan Ruiz picked up two of CONCACAF's biggest individual accolades as Goalkeeper of the Year and Player of the Year, while Canada's Alphonso Davies received two awards for the Gold Cup after ending as the tournament's top scorer.

Award Player Team
CONCACAF Player of the Year Bryan Ruiz Sporting CP & Costa Rica
CONCACAF Goalkeeper of the Year Keylor Navas Real Madrid & Costa Rica
CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Ball Michael Bradley USA
CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Boot Alphonso Davies Canada
CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Glove Andre Blake Jamaica
CONCACAF Gold Cup Young Player Award Alphonso Davies Canada
CONCACAF Champions League Golden Ball Franco Jara Pachuca
CONCACAF Champions League Golden Boot Hirving Lozano Pachuca
CONCACAF Champions League Golden Glove Alfonso Blanco Pachuca
CONCACAF Champions League Best Young Player Hirving Lozano Pachuca
CFU Club Championship Top Scorer Babalito Cibao
MLS MVP (2016) David Villa New York City FC
MLS Rookie of the Year (2017) Julian Gressel Atlanta United
MLS Newcomer of the Year (2016) Nicolas Lodeiro Seattle Sounders
MLS Golden Boot (2017) Nemanja Nikolic Chicago Fire

SOUTH AMERICAN AWARD WINNERS


Miguel Borja y Reinaldo Rueda Mejores de América

Miguel Borja was a surprise winner of the South American Footballer of the Year Award, pipping Gabriel Jesus to the trophy thanks to his goalscoring achievements in the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores with Atletico Nacional. Jonathan Calleri's nine goals helped Sao Paulo reach the last four of the Copa Libertadores, before Atletico Nacional lifted the trophy for the second time.

Award Player Team
South American Footballer of the Year Miguel Borja Atletico Nacional & Colombia
Copa Libertadores Top Scorer Jonathan Calleri Sao Paulo
Copa Libertadores Best Player Alejandro Guerra Atletico Nacional
Copa Sudamericana Top Scorer Miguel Borja Atletico Nacional

The Goal 50 is an annual award that both recognises and ranks the world's 50 best footballers of the preceding 12 months. Chief editors and correspondents from Goal's 37 editions around the world all cast their votes, with candidates judged on their level of consistency over the previous year of action, their big-game performances, footballing legacy and the success of their teams at both club and international level.

Ronan Murphy